Murder of Jiang Ge

On 3 November 2016, Jiang Ge, a 24-year-old Chinese graduate student at Hosei University in Tokyo, was stabbed to death outside her apartment in Nakano, Tokyo. The attack occurred shortly after midnight when Jiang and her roommate, Liu Xin, returned to the apartment together after Liu had asked Jiang to meet her at Higashi-Nakano Station because she was afraid of a former boyfriend, Chen Shifeng, who had been harassing her earlier that day. As the two women entered the building, Chen, who had been waiting upstairs, confronted Jiang in the hallway. Liu entered the apartment first and locked the door. Chen then stabbed Jiang in the neck repeatedly; she died from severe blood loss despite attempts to save her. Liu called police twice from inside the apartment.

In the days following the murder, Liu initially told investigators and the public that she did not know who was responsible. On 7 November 2016, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Chen Shifeng on suspicion of intimidation after discovering he had sent Liu a threatening email on the day of the murder. Further investigation led to a murder arrest warrant, and on 14 December 2016 prosecutors formally charged him with intimidation and murder. Chen's trial began at the Tokyo District Court on 11 December 2017 and concluded on 20 December 2017, with testimony from Jiang's mother, Jiang Qiulian, and from Liu Xin. Chen was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He appealed on 22 December but withdrew the appeal on 29 December, making the sentence final.

The case drew extensive attention in China after Jiang Qiulian revealed on Weibo, two days after the murder, that the killer was Liu Xin's former boyfriend. Public criticism of Liu intensified after Jiang Qiulian published Liu's personal information online in May 2017 to pressure her into meeting, and again after an August 2017 signature campaign—reportedly gathering over two million signatures—seeking the death penalty for Chen. Liu was dismissed from a teaching job in Qingdao amid the backlash. The two women met for the first time since the murder on 23 August 2017 through media-arranged interviews.

Jiang Qiulian subsequently filed a civil lawsuit against Liu Xin, which was accepted by the People's Court of Chengyang District, Qingdao, on 28 October 2019. Following hearings in 2021, the court ruled on 19 January 2022 that Liu bore civil liability for locking the door during the murder, ordering her to pay approximately ¥696,000 in compensation for financial loss and mental anguish. Liu appealed, but the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court rejected her appeal and upheld the ruling on 30 December 2022. Liu's subsequent attempt to crowdfund the compensation amount drew public criticism and violated Chinese charity regulations, and her Weibo account was permanently closed on 4 January 2023. Jiang Qiulian confirmed in June 2023 that the compensation had been paid in full. Liu's application for retrial was rejected by the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court on 2 February 2024.